San Antonio And Bexar County Respond To COVID 19 Surge By Expanding Testing Sites And Implementing Other Key Measures To Protect Residents

San Antonio TX

23 January, 2022

12:39 PM

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Press release from the City of San Antonio: Wednesday, January 19, 2022 CONTACT: covid19media@sanantonio.gov Rudy Arispe: (210) 207-8172 Laura Mayes, City of San Antonio, (210) 207-1337 laura.mayes@sanantonio.gov SAN ANTONIO (January 19, 2022) - COVID-19 is surging in the region, resulting in an increasingly high number of daily COVID-19 cases and a current positivity rate of 38.3%. The City of San Antonio and Bexar County have taken steps to help contain the virus and provide more testing and healthcare resources to the community. "Over the past several weeks, we've deployed more resources to help contain this surge of COVID-19. We have requested and received more resources, such as additional nurses and testing sites from our state and federal partners," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. "We continue to monitor the data and situation, and we will do whatever we can to help keep residents safe from the threat of the pandemic. Please continue to mask up, get vaccinated and get tested to help us contain this virus." Through a request from Mayor Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County recently received 140 contract nurses from the State of Texas to help alleviate staffing needs at area hospitals. They continue to deal with an increase of daily COVID patient admissions. There are 1,218 patients currently hospitalized as of today. "We hope these additional 140 nurses will help ease the burden on our local hospitals," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. "We all have to do our part to stop the spread of the coronavirus by getting vaccinated, boosted and masking up, so that we can help bring this current surge to an end. It will also reduce the number of people being hospitalized." Because of the demand for COVID-19 testing, just this week alone the City of San Antonio through the support of the Texas Division of Emergency Management opened a federal drive-through testing site in Lot C of the Alamodome. It is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through February 4 with the option to expand as needed. Appointments are required. To make an appointment, visit https://www.doineedacovid19test.com/SanAntonio_TX_14602.html or call 1-800-635-8611. The City of San Antonio has also opened six mass testing sites in partnership with the nonprofit organization, Community Labs. Although appointments are not required, they are encouraged by pre-registering at CLTEST.ORG. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday at the following locations: Alamo Colleges District Support Operations Building, 2222 N. Alamo St. 78215 Palo Alto College Building 20 Performing Arts Center, 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. 78224 St. Philip's College, 1801 Martin Luther King Drive 78203 Yates Community Center, 568 Rasa Drive 78227 Melendrez Community Center, 5919 W. Commerce St. 78237 Copernicus Community Center, 5003 Lord Road 78220 Please note that all Community Labs will temporarily suspend COVID-19 testing on Thursday, January 20 at its public collection sites because of potential freezing rain and dangerous driving conditions. They will reopen at 8 a.m. Friday, January 21. Also, Curative will close its testing sites. However, their operations team will reassess conditions Thursday morning. If deemed safe to reopen, they will do so after 10 a.m. All individuals with appointments have been notified by their Customer Care Team and will be rescheduled. The City of San Antonio also operates 20 COVID-19 testing sites through a partnership with Curative. In addition, Bexar County has partnered with Community Labs to open two mass testing sites at the following from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday: Wonderland Mall of the Americas, 4522 Fredericksburg Road 78201 (Lower level beneath Burlington.) Converse Old City Hall, 407 South Seguin 78109 Through these combined COVID-19 testing sites, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County now has the capacity to test about 12,000 people per day. "All of these testing sites would not be possible without the key partnerships and logistical support from Bexar County, Community Labs, Curative and the Texas Division of Emergency Management, as well as our San Antonio Fire Department," City Manager Erik Walsh said. "During the past two years of dealing with the pandemic, we have developed the ability to act quickly and work together to provide the necessary COVID-19 services, including vaccinations and testing, to our residents." To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, Metro Heath encourages individuals to get vaccinated as soon as possible. If you are eligible, get a booster for extra protection, and if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, you are advised to get tested. Because of the high demand for testing across the nation, labs are experiencing delays in processing results and people can expect a delay in receiving their test results. "We are aware that individuals are having to wait longer than 24 or 48 hours to receive their test results," Metro Health Director Claude A. Jacob said. "Because of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, we are seeing an unusually high volume of individuals seeking testing every day. Please know that testing laboratories are dealing with a backload of tests and are working diligently to get results back to residents as soon as possible." The City of San Antonio also encourages people to order free COVID-19 test kits from the federal government. Individuals can order four, free at-home tests at https://www.covidtests.gov/ To find a COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinic or testing location, visit covid19.sanantonio.gov or call 311 and select option 8. The Alamodome Drive-Thru Clinic is open from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. No appointment necessary. This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author's own.